Deer & Deer Hunting Forums: White Tail Deer Hunting Forum

I'm not trying to stir up an argument, quite the contrary actually. I've been considering getting Rages ever since the season ended but I have a few concerns as with any expandables.

First off, how do they perform on quartering-away shots? Do the "rear-deploying blades" make a difference as far as the blades catching and going into the animal funny?

Secondly, to anyone who has hit the shoulder blade, what happened? Since it's an expandable it's probably obvious that the arrow just stops dead but has anyone had a different experience? This might be a stupid question but is there any chance of blowing through the shoulder blade?

These are my primary concerns with expandables. I hunted with them for a few years (NAP Spitfires) and killed a couple does with them but then switched to fixed blades once I hit the shoulder blade on a doe and wasn't able to recover her. I haven't shot anything with fixed blades so I don't have any complaints about them but I was wondering if a switch to Rages is warrented (both logically and economically). Thanks for any input fellas and gals!

I've been using Rage 2 blades since they came out, as have both my brothers. We've had a multitude of different shots between all of us, and we've been happy with the results every time.

My brother shot a deer this season that he thinks he hit in the shoulder blade. Like you, we also did not recover that deer. However, I don't personally believe its due to broadhead performance. I think that's just such a hard place to get a shot and recover the deer, I don't think theres a good recovery chance no matter what you use. It's high and usually forward, so there's a good chance of only get one lung, or no vitals at all, if you hit the shoulder blade. I think that's the primary issue, not so much the broadhead performance.

I shot a buck this year with the most quartering away angle I've ever taken on a deer. Some might argue it was more of an angle than I should have taken (I might argue that), however, I did what I did. The arrow went in through the intestines and up to the off-side shoulder. I did not get an exit, but I buried the arrow up to the vanes with no deflection of any kind. I've had other quartering shots, not as tight of an angle as that one, but have never had an issue with deflection.

On three occasions that I can recall, I have broken a shoulder or leg bone with my Rages. The first buck the shot was broadside. The arrow went in the ribs and hit right on the off-side shoulder. The shoulder bone was completely shattered, the arrow worked its way back out as the deer ran away, and the deer fell in sight of my stand. The tip of the broadhead needed to be replaced, which they are replacable, but otherwise the blade was in great shape and did the job. That was a 20 yard shot.

On another occasion I had a broadside shot. The arrow went it the chest, but was a little low. It came out just below the off-side shoulder, center punching the off-side front leg. The Rage broke the front leg bone completely in half, and the arrow was stuck half-way through the front leg as he ran off. Though low, that shot hit the vitals as well and I recovered the deer within sight of the stand. That Rage was not damaged in any way, just needed to be resharpened, as I do with any broad head after I use it. that was a 25 yard shot.

On my third occasion, I shot a deer broadside, but something whacky happened. I still don't know what, I'm assuming I just torqued the bow or something, but I made a gut shot. The arrow went in the gut area on the entrance, then came out and center-punched the upper part of the rear leg on the exit. The rear leg bone was completely broken in half. I could see that from stand as I watched the deer run away. I had to let him sit for a few hours, but I also recovered that deer, so I was able to have a good look at how much damage that broad head did. That broad head needed a little sharpening, but it wasn't broken, chipped, or bent. Once sharpened, you would never know I used it. that was a 25 yard shot.

That's my experience. I have shot 10 to 12 deer with Rage 2 blades, and am yet to have any kind of malfunction. In fact, I have had a couple of deer that I feel very confident that I would not have recovered had I not been using the Rage. Here's an example: I shot at a deer at 33 yards. Just as I released the arrow, she turned to go back the other way. The arrow reached her just as she was turning. It sliced right along her whole side, starting at her hip and going almost to her shoulder, slicing her whole side open. She ran off into the woods, leaving a massive blood trail and guts hanging on the brush. The arrow didn't deflect, I found it right where it should have been, stuck in the ground. Without the Rage's extra big cutting diameter, I'm not sure what would have happened with that shot. All in all, I've had great luck. I was always a fixed blade guy, and wouldn't use many other models of expandables, but I like the Rage.

This may be a stupid question, but what is the primary reason for using a mechanical broadhead over a fixed blade broadhead? Is it that the mechanical broadhead mimics the trajectory of a field point?

"This is the world we are born into -- we should never let that slip away from us. May it never cease to stimulate, inspire and humble us." from Stalking & Still-Hunting: The Ground Hunter's Bible by G. Fred Asbell

@Ms hunter- thats the primary reason i switched to exp. is that they fly identical to my field point /which means i can shoot target tip and conserve on the life of my targets....also when i used to shoot fixed blades they always shot different than the same grain target tips /which ment moving the sights back and forth and also shooting my ''killing'' tips ment buying more and more wear on my targets.

The flight is the main reason I wanted to try expandables. In the case of the Rages, I also liked the bigger cutting diameter. The good fixed blades fly well, but I normally have them group a little differently than my filed points. I've heard lots of people say that a properly tuned bow will shot a fixed blade to the same spot as a field point, but no matter how tuned my bow is, I dont normally see that. I like not having to adjust my sights when going between the two different types of heads.

The flight is the main reason I wanted to try expandables. In the case of the Rages, I also liked the bigger cutting diameter. The good fixed blades fly well, but I normally have them group a little differently than my filed points. I've heard lots of people say that a properly tuned bow will shot a fixed blade to the same spot as a field point, but no matter how tuned my bow is, I dont normally see that. I like not having to adjust my sights when going between the two different types of heads.

This is only my second year bow hunting. On October 2, the second day of the season, I took a shot at a buck from my tree stand at 20 yards, no obstructions. My arrow went high, grazing the buck's back. At the time I chalked it up to nerves, but now, I'm not so sure. In retrospect, I'm thinking it may have been the flight of my arrow with the fixed broadheads. I may have to give expandables a try this year.

"This is the world we are born into -- we should never let that slip away from us. May it never cease to stimulate, inspire and humble us." from Stalking & Still-Hunting: The Ground Hunter's Bible by G. Fred Asbell

@ms hunter-have you shot at all from your treestand at a target?-or from that exact height before? the most common mistake is not bending correctly and that will almost always result in high shot-fixed blade or expandables-

@ms hunter-have you shot at all from your treestand at a target?-or from that exact height before? the most common mistake is not bending correctly and that will almost always result in high shot-fixed blade or expandables-

I did practice last summer from my stand and from the ground - sitting, kneeling. However most of my practice was with field points.

"This is the world we are born into -- we should never let that slip away from us. May it never cease to stimulate, inspire and humble us." from Stalking & Still-Hunting: The Ground Hunter's Bible by G. Fred Asbell

I believe if your going to shoot fixed blades -you have to shoot ''your broadheads'' not target tips .The belief that fixed blades fly identical to field tips is seriousely flawed...race cars are designed so air flows over the car...the design is everything with wind resistance...some will say ''with a properly ''tuned'' bow they should fly the same''. I beg to differ... my bow tells me so...not a person.I have shot a lot of fixed blades,prob. everything out there....some flew close to my practice tips some patterened high right or high left...not my bow,[;)] but the tips caused this-expandables are designed so they fly like your field tips....thus eliminating the need to move your pin sights.Every fixed blade i shot was always high in regards to my target tips...this is what i believe happened to you.

I have been using the Rage 3 blade for the last 3yrs, and so far I have taken 4 does with them. I have never had a deer run farther then 40 yards after the hit. The amount of damage is incredible with these things! I shot one doe last year hit her back in the liver, she dropped within 40 yards dead! Now I have heard some guys say that they have hit deer in the shoulder and watched to arrow fall right out. I have also heard some guys say they have hit deer in the shoulder and the Rage blew right through it. I think a lot of it has to do with arrow weight, kind of bow you are using, how much kinetic energy your bow produces, distance of the shot, and the angle of the arrow as it is hitting the shoulder.

Personally I would recommend them to anybody, the hole that they produce going through a deer is unreal! Even if one of the blades fails to open because it glanced of the side of the shoulder, the other 2 still produce more cutting diameter then most fixed blades. (This did happen to me once.) They also fly very nice compared to my field tips! Did I mention the blood trails are awesome!